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The Six Sillies

From The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, 1890

This story comes from The Red Fairy Book, a collection of folktales from around the world published by Andrew Lang in 1890. This particular tale is from Hainaut, a region in Belgium. It is a silliness tale, a type of folktale that teaches through laughter. The family sits in the cellar worrying about imaginary children while real beer runs all over the floor — a funny picture of people who think about the wrong things at the wrong time. Stories like this one help children see that practical thinking matters as much as dreaming. This text reflects its era.

Band

Yellow · Emerging readersTypical starting range: ages 6–8

Length

medium · about 542 words in 6 sections · 4 pictures

Source

The Red Fairy Book, Andrew Lang

First published

1890

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (8 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Colouring page
• · Teacher’s Edition (members)

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.

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